Billy Bob Thornton Cast in FX’s ‘Fargo’ Spin-off Miniseries

Billy Bob Thornton Cast in FX's 'Fargo' Spin-off Miniseries

An interesting new development has emerged on the FX’s upcoming television series inspired by Joel Coen’s 1996 film “Fargo,” as the network just announced that Billy Bob Thornton has been cast in the lead role in the show. The acclaimed actor, who won a Best Screenplay Oscar for “Sling Blade” and starred in the Coen Brothers’ “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” is set to play Lorne Malvo, a ruthless and manipulative figure who leads a small-town insurance salesman down a dangerous path.

The upcoming FX series will focus on a new crime story as well as feature a different cast of characters, while maintaining the same setting and trademark tone of the Oscar-winning original film. Noah Hawley, who has worked on the television series “Bones,” will pen the series, while the Coen Brothers will serve as executive producers alongside Warren Littlefield and Geyer Kosinski.

Production on the ten-episode miniseries is set to begin this fall and expected to premiere in spring 2014.